A comprehension of Feng-shui and its relevance tolandscape architecture

Abstract: The Feng-shui theory, although hotly debated since Communism took power in China,currently serves as instrument for landscape evaluation and improvement in thepursuit of an ideal landscape mode for livelihood and eventually for harmony betweennature and human being. It has arguably, as guidance, contributed a lot to shaping theideal landscape, the mode of which, as modeled on Feng-shui, might thus be seen toprovide a basic model for the traditional elements of the Chinese built environment,such as city structure, architecture and garden. This thesis attempts to draw attentionto issues with regard to the Feng-shui theory from multiple perspectives, includinghuman geography, environmental psychology and Chinese philosophy. Feng-shuistems from the Chinese cosmology and is closely related to the Ying-Yang dualism. Itarticulates the Chinese space-place relationship and the dread of nature thatprofoundly affects the pattern of Chinese landscape and architecture. The thesis alsoconducts a cross-cultural comparison to differentiate the Eastern and the Westernlandscape styles, especially since the Enlightenment, during which Chinesearchitectural elements were initially brought to Europe, although the authenticity ofthese elements has been questioned. The thesis comes to the conclusion thatFeng-shui is in essence a kind of genius loci and the understanding of Feng-shuicontributes to landscape architectural theory, particularly from an ecologicalperspective for sustainability.